Under contract for the Helmholtz-Center for Environmental Research (UFZ) Leipzig a mobile thermal in-situ remediation plant MOSAM with modular operation units in container was developed, assembled and operated based on the site investigation drilling technology of Geoprobe®.

MOSAM combines two innovative in-situ remediation technologies. Steam-air driven thermally enhanced soil vapour extraction may be applied for moderate and well permeable soils in the saturated and unsaturated zone. Target contaminants are volatile organic compounds with boiling points of max. 200°C. The electrically driven conductive soil heating technology (THERIS) may be applied in low permeable soils to remove organic contaminants with boiling points of up to 400°C. The technology was successfully applied in the unsaturated zone. Research work for an application in the saturated zone is currently on the way.

The technologies are unique in a sense of a fast, high efficient removal of contaminants (source zone removal) for a soil volume of up to 1500 m³ within 6 – 9 months of operation. The combined mobile thermal technology to operate hot spot pilot studies was not commercially available in Germany. The know how needed for this technologies was developed at VEGAS as well as appropriate experience is available here.

MOSAM consists of three insulated container in a standardized size of 20-ft. Tubes, piping, etc. to link process units to the pilot field allow a pilot area size of 500 m². MOSAM is explosion-protected according ATEX IIA/B T1 – T4. The main process and distribution units are installed in a redundant system. All process sizes are recorded to control the process automatically by SPS and by remote control. An SMS based alarm system works independently on basis of an online data aquisition system.